iHeartMedia has announced a first-of-its-kind agreement with actor Anna Faris to bring her hit podcast, “Anna Faris is Unqualified,” to iHeart’s CHR radio stations and the iHeartRadio Podcast Network.
“Unqualified” features interviews with celebrities and cultural figures who tackle a variety of topics such as dating and relationships, in addition to taking phone calls from listeners seeking relationship advice. Faris created the podcast with her long-time friend and co-host Sim Sarna, who produces the show and runs the production company, Unqualified Media.
Leveraging its “Podcast, Meet Broadcast” strategy, iHeartMedia has struck a deal with Unqualified Media to produce a long-form “Anna Faris is Unqualified” radio program which will air weekends across CHR broadcast radio stations nationwide. Additionally, iHeartMedia will create short-form content which will air weekdays promoting “Anna Faris is Unqualified” nationwide. “Anna Faris is Unqualified” will also officially partner with iHeartRadio Podcast Network to provide exclusive podcast content just for iHeartRadio listeners.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be partnering with iHeartMedia to bring ‘Unqualified’ to millions of new listeners,” said Faris. “At ‘Unqualified,’ we pride ourselves on generally not knowing what we are doing, and it seems iHeart is willing to accept our values and form this expansive partnership with us. Being able to embarrass Sim to millions of new listeners is simply a dream come true.”
“We are so excited to introduce our podcast to millions of new listeners that may not have known that Anna Faris had a podcast – or even what a podcast is,” said Sarna. “We hope that by working with iHeartMedia, we can give even more people deeply unqualified advice.”
“As big fans of Anna Faris and ‘Unqualified,’ we know this series is the perfect partner to launch this Podcast-to-Broadcast opportunity,” said Chris Peterson, SVP of Podcasting for iHeartMedia. “We can help podcasts like ‘Anna Faris is Unqualified’ scale in a big way by introducing them to our quarter of a billion broadcast listeners each month. While podcasting continues to grow on iHeartRadio and across the industry, nearly three-quarters of the country still do not listen to podcasts. We have the ability to reach those listeners through radio’s massive reach, helping to introduce podcasts to the vast majority of people often for the first time.”
Faris is the start of the hit CBS sitcom Mom and has appeared in a number of hit films, including Overboard and the Scary Movie series as well as a voice actress in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and many more.
